“So what is envy? Let’s return to the Augustinian scene of a sibling envying his brother who is suckling at the mother’s breast. The subject does not envy the Other’s possession of the prized object as such, but rather the way the Other is able to enjoy this object, which is why it is not enough for him simply to steal and thus gain possession of the object. His true aim is to destroy the Other’s ability/capacity to enjoy the object. So we see that envy needs to be placed within the triad of envy, thrift, and melancholy, the three forms of not being able to enjoy the object and, of course, reflexively enjoying that very impossibility. In contrast to the subject of envy, who envies the other’s possession and/or jouissance of the object, the miser possesses the object, but cannot enjoy/consume it. His satisfaction derives from just possessing it, elevating it into a sacred, untouchable/prohibited, entity which should under no conditions be consumed. The proverbial figure of the lone miser is the one we see returning home, safely locking the doors, opening up his chest and then taking that secret peek at his prized object, observing it in awe. The very thing that prevents his consumption of the object guarantees its status as the object of desire. Most tragic of all, the melancholic has free access to all he wants, but finds no satisfaction in it.”
- Slavoj Zizek, from "Violence"
To Be Investigated:
"Miserliness" as compared to "Thrift"
"Chastity" (as virtuous) as compared to "Sexual Anorexia"
and the melancholic (a)sexuality of a certain logic of Queerness
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